COOLERS: LIQUOR INDUSTRY`S HOTTEST ITEM

John GormanCHICAGO TRIBUNE

True Midwesterners have little use for Californians` tans, politics, hot tubs, wine country, pink tofu and ''have-a-nice-days.'' Gag us with a spoon, as the Valley Girls say.

It was with this in mind that California Cooler launched its current advertising campaign for its wine-and-fruit drink. In its television ads, a bar patron complains about California and then orders a California Cooler. One more reason to hate California, the spot concludes.

''It was done with tongue in cheek, but it also has a ring of truth in it,'' explained Stuart Bewley, president of California Cooler Inc. of Stockton, Calif. ''It`s poking a little fun at California and the feeling (of Midwesterners) that `We kind of hate California, but it has kind of neat stuff, too.` ''

Hundreds of thousands of Americans, not just Midwesterners, have been doing some California-style drinking since California Cooler introduced its blended product in 12-ounce bottles four years ago. Sales have skyrocketed from 700 cases in 1981 to 10 million last year, Bewley said.

California Cooler is the clear leader in what is becoming an increasingly glutted segment of the liquor business.

''It`s the hottest thing in the liquor-and-wine industry,'' said Max Zimmerman, president of Zimmerman`s Inc., a liquor store at 240 W. Randolph St. ''We put in a special cooler just for coolers. It`s a light drink, and all the younger people are buying it.''

Of the major alcoholic drinks, only consumption of wine has been increasing in recent years, and that is due to coolers, according to Patrick Roney, senior product manager for Seagram Wine Co., a recent entry in the cooler contest.

Sales of table wine, the largest segment of the wine market, dropped 2.8 percent last year, but overall sales of wine were up 2.8 percent, again due mostly to the growth of coolers, noted Eileen Fredrikson, a partner in Gomberg Fredrikson and Associates, a San Francisco-based wine consultant.

''Coolers have helped the struggling wine industry that has been hurt by an oversupply of grapes that resulted from the popularity of wine in the

`70s,'' Fredrikson said.

According to Impact, a New York-based newsletter on wines, spirits and beer, sales of coolers climbed from 4,000 cases in 1981 to 14.8 million last year. ''And we predict that will double this year,'' said Frank Walters, Impact`s director of research.

Before Bewley`s prepackaged concoction, people made their own coolers by mixing wine and club soda or fruit juice.

''We felt that there was no refreshing alcoholic beverage available to the consumer,'' said Bewley. ''The cooler takes advantage of the trend to less alcoholic content, to light drinks and to no artificial flavorings.''

Bewley professed ignorance about the caloric content of his coolers, but other sources say the 12-ounce bottle contains 251 calories. Most of the premixed coolers now being marketed are a blend of wine and fruit juice that have a 4 to 6 percent alcoholic content and between 200 and 260 calories.

Bewley and Michael Crete, both 32, launched California Cooler on a $10,000 shoestring in a condemned farmhouse. Their skyrocketing sales caught the eye of others in the alcoholic-beverage industry, and soon scores of other cooler companies sprang up.

One liquor-industry giant that charted California Cooler`s success was Brown-Forman Distillers Corp., the Louisville-based liquor marketer. Earlier this month Brown-Forman paid $146 million for California Cooler. Bewley and Crete are staying on as president and chairman, respectively, of Brown-Forman`s new subsidiary.

''We felt we needed additional expertise and experience,'' Bewley said in explaining the sale. ''While we have been very successful, we felt we needed that financial clout to compete with Gallo and Seagram.''

Indeed, Joseph E. Seagram & Sons Inc. had tested the cooler waters last year and then dived in this spring with the introduction of Seagram`s Cooler, which was launched with a $20 million ad campaign.

''We are targeting the female consumer,'' said Seagram`s Roney. ''We think that the majority of men are beer drinkers and that women don`t have an acceptable alternative. Beer is an acquired taste, but coolers are not. They taste good immediately.''

With a 4 percent alcoholic content and 207 calories, Seagram`s Cooler is cashing in on the trend toward lighter drinks with less alcohol.

A spokesman for the privately held company refused to discuss whether the two men in the commercial are actually Mr. Bartles and Mr. Jaymes. He also declined to discuss what type of consumers the company is targeting or what market share it is striving for.

Roney said the nascent industry is undergoing a shakeout that will eventually leave four or five national competitors and a handful of regional brands.

Last year consumers spent more than $300 million on more than 40 different brands of coolers. Among those mentioned as probable survivors of a shakeout are Heublein Inc.`s Citronet, Paddington Corp.`s Steidl`s Wine Cooler and Canandaigua Wine Co.`s Sun Country cooler.

''It will be the brands that can afford the investment spending (that will survive),'' Roney said. ''The shakeout also results from the fact that retailers just can`t afford to stock all the brands.''

Almost everyone in the liquor industry seems to like the cooler phenomenon. The heavyweight brewers also are elbowing their way into the market. This month Stroh`s is bringing out nationally its White Mountain Cooler, a grain-based citrus drink. Coor`s is testing its Colorado Chiller, a malt-based version, in six major cities.

La Crosse, Wis.-based G. Heileman Brewing Co. rolled out its Wine Country Coolers nationwide in May and previously had national distribution of its La Croix Sparkling Coolers, a malt-based cooler.

''We think that our primary market is females 21 to 27 who haven`t yet formed a taste preference for alcoholic beverages,'' said Bob Bennardo, director of product development for Heileman. ''We see coolers as a bridge between soft drinks and alcoholic beverages.''

Neither Bewley, Roney, nor Bennardo believe coolers are a fad. Nor does Gail Zelitzky, president of Foremost Liquors, which has 49 stores in the Chicago area.

''Is health a passing thing? Is fitness a passing fad? The people drinking coolers are fitness- and nutrition-conscious,'' she said. ''I was at a party of joggers this past weekend, and the beverage of choice was coolers. It`s a hot, very hot and neat new category.''